Concern among PSV operators about safety on certain routes

Barbadians may soon be unable to access privately owned public service vehicles (PSV) on certain routes after sunset.

That’s because, especially during the festive season, there is major concern that the lives of operators may be in jeopardy to criminals.

Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael voiced this concern after minibus driver Victor Walton, who was last week robbed and shot twice in the head, succumbed to his injuries.

Police public relations officer Inspector Rodney Inniss confirmed that the 56- year-old of 2nd Avenue, Haynesville, St James died around 11:30 pm of Friday night having been hospitalised in grave condition since the attack on December 1.

Raphael told Barbados TODAY that if this murder does not demonstrate to authorities the daily dangers that operators face and the grave urgency to introduce the long discussed cashless system, then nothing would.

“As an association it is a frightening situation,” he lamented while extending condolences to Walton’s family. And he once more called on Government to revisit the discussion on the cashless system to make the introduction mandatory for all PSVs.

“In the meantime, we are asking Government to open discussion about the cashless system with the operator as soon as possible or you will see some areas of the industry where after 6 o’clock you may not be able to get a vehicle on some of these routes,” Raphael said.

“Because of the fear of the safety for the lives of those particular workers … We as an association can do it as a project but most of the cash is taken daily and more of our operators are paid daily in cash. I am saying that in order for it to work you have to legislate It because you will find some operators more likely to want to work on the cashless and some may want to work on the cash.

So, in order to make sure that we don’t deprive … persons, we are asking Government make it mandatory that all public service vehicles, including Transport Board, carry cashless on board,” he said.

This system, he suggested would take the form of a Metro card as in the United States or an Oyster card as seen in the United Kingdom. Primarily, these cards are payment methods for public transport. The Oyster for example, can hold tickets; travel permits and; most commonly, credit for travel (“Pay as you go”), which must be added to the card before travel.

Raphael added: “Say for example I introduce cashless on my vans, a person with cash when they see my van they are not going to catch it because they will say you have to have a card to catch that so therefore I will lose out. If it is across the board and people know that in order for you to get in the bus … they will make sure that it got on money before they go.”

Until such time however, Raphael has requested a meeting with top brass in the Barbados Police Service as well as the Ministry of Transport and Works to discuss increased police patrols especially at night.

In addition, AOPT is also encouraging its members to install fare boxes into the bigger vans. On that point, he also asked for government’s support for owners to access loans to transition from the smaller units to the minivans since the ZRs cannot carry a fare box.

“We will be speaking to government on the concerns that we have with the cashless, the ability to allow our operators to get loans to change their buses and the fact that Government has not gone into any discussions with us as it relates to mobilisation of electric vehicles,” Raphael added. (KC)